Day Trip to Koh Larn Island

Day Trip to Koh Larn update: this is part 2 of my two part trip report on Koh Larn. To start from the beginning, click this link: Koh Larn Beaches part 1. Just for a quick refresh, the main points from the first half of the report are:

1. It takes about 45 minutes to get to Koh Larn by ferry, and it's a
good idea to go early in the morning. The last ferry back is at 6pm. 60
baht is all you need for a return trip.

2. You need to hire a motorbike to go exploring the island - you do not need to show a license, all you need is 200 baht.

3.If you want to, you can stay on the island overnight.

4.Nual beach is lovely and really should be on your list if you like secluded Pattaya beaches.

Day Trip to Koh Larn island; Thien Beach

After stopping off at Nual beach and Samae beach in the south of the island, I gradually worked my way up the island stopping off at each of the main beaches. I wrote about Nual and Samae in the first part of the review; the next beach on my list was Thien beach.

Thien beach is about the same size as Samae and has the same sort of facilities. You will find a few bars/restaurants, plenty of sun-loungers, and some hills to go walking up.

The sand quality is a little grainy, as it is on Nual and Samae, but it is a clean beach. I think Thien is really a very similar option to Samae and there is not much to set it apart from that beach. It's personal preference as to which one you will prefer. If you wanted to, you could probably walk southwards along the beach and up the hill in the picture. If you go back to the first part of my review and look at the picture of Samae beach, I think the hill there is the same hill but taken from the south looking north. The viewpoint on top of that hill should be accessible from both Samae and Thien beach.

Day Trip to Koh Larn island; Ta Waen Beach

The next beach
on my visit list was Ta Waen beach. Whatever else you do, you must visit
this beach. It is arguably the best beach on the island, and that means
it is arguably the best beach anywhere in Pattaya.

The first time I ever visited Ko Larn, the ferry dropped us off at this beach (using small boats to take us ashore). The first thing that you will notice about this beach is the sand quality. It is absolutely first class. You get the fine white powdery sand that you get in places like Phuket.

The beach here is clean despite being the largest and busiest of the beaches on the island. Ta Waen has the largest selection of bars/restaurants to choose from and there are a few shops/stalls selling various trinkets. If you decide to purchase anything, make sure you negotiate on the price. On my first trip I bought a couple of beach towels and got totally ripped off!

If you are only going to visit one beach on Koh Larn, Ta Waen would have
to be my recommendation as there is more to do here, and that means
that there is more to keep you entertained for a longer period of time.

Day Trip to Koh Larn island; Thong Lang Beach

Thong
Land Beach at the northern end of the island was the last beach that I
got to see. It's a good beach to end the report on as it is a little
gem.

The first thing to note is that getting there was a little more tricky than the others. You can get to one of the hills at the back of it via motorbike but the road is a little narrow if you have never ridden a motorbike before and you have a passenger on the back! The second thing to note is that there are some steps to descend and climb on the way back, so don't bother if you hate steps.

I really liked Thong Lang, I mentioned before that I prefer the smaller, more secluded Pattaya beaches, and Thong Lang doesn't disappoint on that score. There is a shop/bar/restaurant there, so getting a drink is not a problem.

The sand quality here is also first class. It is the same white powdery stuff that you get on Ta Waen beach. I highly recommend that any day trip to Koh Larn island should include having a look at this beach.

That concludes my day trip to Koh Larn review. I hope you have found something of use here; if I've missed something that you think is important, don't hesitate to knock up a report of your own and send it in. I'll publish it, just click this link to go to the submission page; Pattaya Stories.

One more thing... don't forget my advice about hotels from part 1 of the report; the best Koh Larn hotels to consider are: